Bookmarks
by Loonaticslover13
Summary: Or four times Holly Fox felt that she didn't fit in, and the one time she did. Pre-OneInAMillion. Brief character study.


Bookmarks

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_i._

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The grade one class didn't like the fact they couldn't go outside for recess, six year old Holly Fox knew that much. The other kids grumbled and pouted, looking forlornly at the window where it was pouring. Rain splashed against the window; Holly watched the drops trickle down with mild interest.

"But miss –"

"No buts Brad," their teacher said sternly. "There's no reason you can't have a perfectly good time inside - look, I have board games in the cupboard and picture books on the back shelf -"

Holly made a beeline for the book shelf. She quickly grabbed one of her favourites - a large book about a small boy who traveled around the world - so that she would get the chance to read it again. The pictures were all so colourful and beautiful. When she got older, the little fox decided, she would go see the world.

Turning around, however, made her smile fade slightly. All of the other children were clamoring for board games - like checkers or Memory. It made her feel slightly out of place to be the only one who wanted to read.

She brought a few more books to her desk and sat down, casting the laughing kids a sad glance that no one else enjoyed what she did. Oh well, she thought, more books for me.

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_ii._

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"I'm just saying, I don't get what the big deal is - it's just a dance -" Holly was saying.

"Dances are fun Holly," one of her middle school friends said. "You're just upset that you don't have a date."

Holly flushed and glowered at her friend, furious that she would even think that. "Why would I want a date? I'm twelve! I can have a perfectly good time by myself."

Her friend was clearly humouring her when she said, "Yeah, I guess."

For the rest of the day Holly didn't speak to her and kept her nose buried in a book. But she could however, still hear. All around her, her female classmates were talking excitedly about the dance.

"What are you wearing?"  
"Oh my gosh that's _so _cute!"  
"You too look so good together!"

Really, was she the only one who wasn't acting like it was the greatest thing since the internet? She sighed and was ready to leave school and had decided to skip the dance. Which meant she could avoid those pitying looks, as if the fact she couldn't understand the utter joy the dance brought was as tragic as the sinking of the Titanic.

Curling up with a good book was the much better option.

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_iii._

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To say Holly was nervous was an understatement. High school was a big deal, and the school was big, and she was so small and without a friend. Well, besides the worn copy of the book in her bag, the bookmark wedged only a few chapters away from the end.

The first day was a whirlwind of faces and places and names to remember.

The first week was adjusting to early mornings and all the warnings of homework to come.

The first month was lonely because she still hadn't found anybody she clicked with.

On the first day of the third month she went up to a lunch table, sat down by herself and read. Other grade nines did come over of course to sit. But nobody spoke to her, even once she had finished her book. Nobody even looked at her, or acknowledged her existence.

She skipped the rest of lunch and went to the school library instead.

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_iv._

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Being seventeen was hard. Holly hated boys - hated them. Hated how they made her heart pound and break at the same time, which she knew was stupid. It wasn't like he and she had been anything but she had thought... She had thought maybe he liked her.

Clearly the fact he was kissing Alyssa Pussycat had proven her wrong.

She wiped her eyes and went to the old abandoned bookstore her grandmother had owned, where her mother, aunt and uncle had grown up in. It had become a safe place, even if it was very dusty. She pulled a book from the shelf and started to read.

Anything to escape the horrible way she felt right now.

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_v._

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"Okay, what movie should we watch?" asked Ace. The Loonatics and Holly were gathered in the main room of the tower. It was the only room Holly could really remember the name of the floor of. The tower was huge, and she had only been there a few days.

Slam grunted a suggestion.

"The Hunger Games?" Holly said and she smiled. Everyone nodded, Duck somewhat reluctant. "Okay, but it's not as good as the books."

It was to her surprise that the coyote, Tech, chimed in with, "Movies never are."

Somebody else loved books as much as she did. And despite being a tower with six people she had only begun to get to know, she didn't feel out of place, or alone.

She glanced over at her book lying on the table, the bookmark near the middle. Yeah, it could stay there for as long as it liked.

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**This is more of a Holly character study than anything, but I hoped you liked it all the same. So, I have some very important and exciting news: **

**I have created a Holly Fox community, primarily dedicated to the pairing of her and Tech, but mostly so I have a place for all of my stories where she's in it. [I guess I should add "Detention Room 101"]. The community is called "Machines and Mistletoe" and I would very much appreciate it if you'd check it out.**

**Also, if any of you ever want to include Holly in a story, just PM and let me know. If you have any questions on her character, backstory or whatever, please leave a review or PM me and I'll PM you back.**

**I have also set up a poll on my profile - what LU story of mine is your favourite? I had to divide stories into certain categories (Acexi oneshots, Angsty stories, etc) otherwise it would have been far too long, but vote if you want to.**

**Alright, last but not least, Chapter 6 of "ATO" (Against the Odds") is almost done. I'll be posting updates on my profile when the chapter's done/up, etc, so if there's been a particularly long update gap you can check there.**

**I hope you've all been having a wonderful week and weekend. Review if you want to, I always love hearing your thoughts. :)**


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